McKinnie vs. Ware will be key matchup on Sunday

Published: Wednesday, January 13, 2010

JON KRAWCZYNSKI

MINNEAPOLIS - When Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers had a field day against Minnesota left tackle Bryant McKinnie in a nationally televised game three weeks ago, you can bet DeMarcus Ware was watching.

When Ware's Dallas Cowboys come to town on Sunday for an NFC divisional playoff game, he will be looking for similar success against the 6-foot-8, 335-pound "Mount McKinnie," who is charged with protecting Brett Favre's blind side.

Ware, a pass-rushing demon coming off the edge, has 11 sacks this season and is every bit the matchup problem that Peppers is. Both are big, fast and relentless, with a dazzling array of pass-rushing moves that give even the best tackles fits.

Ware put plenty of his tricks on display in the Cowboys' dismantling of Philadelphia in the wild card round last weekend, notching two sacks in the 34-14 victory.

"(He's) very high tempo so you have to match his intensity," McKinnie said. "Use your technique."

If recent history is an indicator, McKinnie will have his hands full.

Peppers so thoroughly owned McKinnie on Dec. 20 that he was benched in the second half of a 26-7 loss to the Panthers. Peppers had two sacks of Favre and McKinnie also committed two penalties before being pulled for veteran Artis Hicks, giving every pass rusher in the league a blueprint for success against the Vikings.

McKinnie said he was distracted by talk that his stance was allowing opposing defenses to diagnose whether the play was a run or a pass before the snap. That, coupled with a nagging ankle injury, made for a long night in Carolina.

"People were saying they could tell run or pass by my foot so in the game I was trying to adjust my foot but it wasn't a comfortable position," McKinnie said. "It was just stupid."

The embarrassing performance cast a pall on what has been one of his best seasons as a pro. Since being chosen seventh overall in 2002, McKinnie has steadily worked his way up the ladder of left tackles in the NFC. This year, he has spoken openly about being more responsible and mature off the field and focusing more on it to put together a complete season.

McKinnie was named to his first Pro Bowl, and the Vikings need him to start performing like a top-flight tackle this week. He is responsible for protecting the 40-year-old Favre, who has had one of the best seasons of his 19-year career to help the Vikings (12-4) earn a first-round bye in the playoffs.

The Cowboys will be gunning for Favre on Sunday.

"They have a really good receiver corps so we have to put pressure on (Favre)," Ware said. "We can't let him sit back there because he'll pick us apart. He's a really good quarterback and everybody says he can't run. He can still move a little bit."

McKinnie vs. Ware will be one of the key matchups on Sunday. The problem for the Vikings is that Dallas likes to switch things up with Ware, sending him at opposing quarterbacks from all angles.

And with Anthony Spencer, the other outside linebacker in the Cowboys' 3-4 scheme, playing nearly as well as Ware these days, Dallas coach Wade Phillips has plenty of options.

"It's a big defense, it's an athletic defense and they look like they're playing at a very high level," Vikings coach Brad Childress said. "It's not overly complicated, but it doesn't look like anyone's thinking either. And good things happen when they're letting it go, and they really are."

With Ware and Spencer wreaking havoc, the Cowboys have won four in a row, beating Philadelphia twice and top-seeded New Orleans in that span to become one of the hottest teams in the league.

Childress admitted after the Carolina game that he didn't give McKinnie enough help on Peppers, so both McKinnie and rookie right tackle Phil Loadholt figure to get a hand from tight end Jim Kleinsasser.

"They are some big bruisers," Kleinsasser said. "They're strong and fast. We have to get after them. Tight ends will be called on some stuff, tackles will be called on some stuff. Hopefully we get it done."

McKinnie said the best thing the Vikings can do is to establish Adrian Peterson and the running game so Ware and Spencer can't get set their sights on Favre every down.

"They're firing off at you all the time," McKinnie said of pass protecting. "You're just sitting there going backward and you're taking the shots all the time. With running, you can deliver the blow. That's why you want to balance it out. You get your chance to hit them so you're not just backpedaling."